In a study published in the scientific journal Science , Professor Hugo Snippert and his colleagues from the Hubrecht Institute (Netherlands) state that a group of stem cells that express the Lgr6 gene and are found in the hair follicle (the cavity from which the hair) are the primitive stem cells of the skin . And that, therefore, it should be possible to use these stem cells to help heal wounds or in skin transplants , for example in burn victims. They could even be useful to combat baldness.
The skin has different types of cells, including those of the epidermis or superficial layer, those of the dermis, those that form the hair follicles and the sebaceous glands. The stem cells identified by Snippert were able to repair the entire skin of injured adult mice and, in the long term, produced both new skin and hair.
"Given the similarity between mice and humans, it is likely that the same Lgr6 stem cell exists in humans, " said Snippert, who recalled that regenerative medicine offers great promise for the future.
